A Legend in the Making

Below is the poem entitled A Legend in the Making which was written by poet
Timothy
Hicks. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.

A Legend in the Making

"Youth has its benefits
And age its history
We can be capable and inexperienced
Or have libraries of knowledge
For viewing purposes only.
Who are you to choose both?"
Father was cruel and strict but how could know
that his son would one day lasso up criminals
without so much as batting an eye?
How could he know that he'd live to be a ripe old age
and still show those whippersnappers a thing or two about life...
... by the tight squeeze of yellowing fingernails
digging into a bony shoulder.
How could he know that he'd say stuff like
"Get the hell off my lawn!", when he became much older?
(... youth has its benefits)
Which he would surely take full advantage of
(... age it's history)
And with his it will be nothing short of amazing
A smile that will appear kindly, at first,
though in reality he's sizing you up, wondering
how fish-like your handshake might be.
Libraries of knowledge?
Where do I begin!
- starting at the beginning would simply take too long.
But inexperienced?
That's not within his vocabulary.
Little did anyone know that his life
would indeed have many "viewing purposes".
But at the moment he's just a little boy
bowing his head to fathers advice.
"You're a good kid, m'boy, don't let anyone tell you different.
Remember what we talked about, what you say
when someone brings you down?"
"You don't mess with Clint Eastwood!"
"That's right..."
For the Word Portrait Contest

The contrast of youth and age is very well defined here. :) I like the way you brought life experiences to showcase the benefits and history of both. Timothy...where do I fit in? Hmmmm....going to be 46 next month....feel like a dinosaur. Happy to say I feel like I have the best of both ends of the spectrum. Good writing, my boy! ;) Clint Eastwood was the icing on the cake!

No need to feel dinosaur-like. My dad is almost 59 and he's still quite the child at heart. I recently saw Gran Torino which made me really admire Clint Eastwood (even though in the film he is portrayed as an extremely grouchy person). Thanks for reading!